


Stay Right Here

by Stealthtable



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-07
Packaged: 2019-02-11 15:32:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12938265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stealthtable/pseuds/Stealthtable
Summary: Lup helps Barry fix a robot. Feels ensue.





	Stay Right Here

Lup hikes herself up onto the countertop, shoving aside an oil can and screwdriver to make some room. On the floor, Barry is crouching down, examining a dented-in panel on one of the robots they’ve met. They’ve been exploring the city they’ve come to this cycle, the seventeenth cycle since they left home. It’s a really cool place, built in tiers, and these folks have some really advanced technology. Lup is impressed. She and Barry have been trying to figure out whether any of the technology they’ve found might help the crew to stop the Hunger, or even slow it down, without luck so far.

Lup’s been working with Barry a lot lately. His background in science and hers in arcana complement each other, and each tends to see things that the other one misses. Lup’s been keeping an eye out for Barry, too, quietly. Ever since since they talked that night in the lab a few cycles ago, Lup’s made sure that Barry feels comfortable coming to her if he needs some support. Lup’s spent her whole life with Taako, and they’ve always had each other to lean on. She can’t imagine not having anyone to confide in, and she’ll be damned if Barry or any of the others feels alone like that again.

The very next morning, in fact, Lup had burst into the lab after breakfast, making Barry jump. “Heeeeeeyyyyy Barold, I’m very bored, need anything set on fire?” she had asked. Barry laughed nervously.

“I, uh, don’t need anything set on fire, but I could use a pair of hands if you’re interested,” he answered. They had worked for a little while, Barry occasionally forcing a bit of small talk, until finally he had sighed. “Lup, about last night...I’m--”

Lup had cut him off. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Bar. I’m still not gonna give you shit, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Barry had smiled.

“Thanks, Lup,” he’d whispered, and they’d gone back to work.

Lup swings her legs, kicking the cabinet below rhythmically as she watches Barry. He’s talking to the robot now, asking questions. “What happened here, bud?” he asks. “You’ve got a pretty good dent and it looks like a component or two out of whack.”

The robot answers, “I was playing ball with some of the others and I got tackled. I’m fast, but they’re big and fast! We all went down in a big pile. But now this armpiece doesn’t respond right and I keep knocking stuff over.”

“I think I can fix ya, bud, hold it still for me a minute ok?” responds Barry, and glances up at Lup. “Hey Lup is there a real small phillips head up there? Like teeny?” Lup hunts around on the counter a minute, but comes up empty.

“Hold on, lemme look in here,” Lup says, pulling open a drawer next to her right boot. “Here’s one Bar, is that small enough?” she asks, handing over the screwdriver she found.

Barry glances at the screw in question again. “That should work, thanks Lup,” he says, getting to work loosening the damaged panel. “Can you see if there’s another of these anyplace too? This panel’s kinda shot.”

Lup kicks the drawer closed again and turns to the upper cabinet on her other side. She opens it, but all it has are chest pieces. She moves on to the next cabinet, but as she opens it she’s distracted by a zapping sound from the robot followed by a yelp from Barry.

The robot starts to laugh, as Barry rubs his hand. “Oops,” it chuckles, “my bad!” Lup can’t help but laugh too. Barry glares.

“Come on, buddy, hold still a sec for me and no more of that, all right? I think the fuse is blown on this side, that’s why you can’t move it right. Lup are there fuses?” he asks, gingerly taking the armpiece back into his hands.

Dork, Lup thinks as she hunts for fuses. She finds the panels she was looking for in one cabinet, then the fuses in a drawer a couple down from the screwdrivers. Labels would do these folks a world of good. Lup turns to hand Barry a new fuse, just as the robot zaps Barry again, bursting into laughter.

Barry yelps and jerks his hand away, looking irritated. “Seriously, bud, you’ve gotta stop,” he says, trying for stern, and Lup loses her fight not to laugh this time.

Oh gods, she thinks, laughing harder, I wish I could stay right here with him forever!

The thought startles Lup a little. She’s never stayed in one place for any length of time at all. Hell, she couldn’t even manage to stay in her own planar system. She’s never stuck with anyone except for Taako, but that’s different. But now the idea occurs to her. She feels less restless around Barry, more at ease. She wants to stay with Barry...actually...she loves Barry.

Lup smiles at the two on the floor as she realises. This dork is her favourite dork. Barry finishes up attaching the new panel on the armpiece and stands up. “You should be good, bud,” he says. “Maybe take it easy, ok?”

The door bursts open, slamming back against the wall as Magnus huffs in, covered in sweat and looking...a little off, frankly. “Didja fix Kevin? I tripped on top of him and the ball went,” he explains, “and Kevin was down, and...something? I think I broke,” he continues, curiously flipping a cool compress in his hand.

“Who’s Kevin? You’re not making any sense, my dude,” Lup begins, but Magnus cuts her off.

“I’m forgetting my rustic hospitality!” Magnus shouts, bowing unsteadily. “Kevin, meet Lup and Barry, and Lup and Barry, this is Kevin, my robit friend who I play ball with now!”

Merle pulls up to the doorframe, clearly out of breath. “Magnus, would you get back here, you’ve got a concussion,” he scolds. Lup and Barry exchange a look. So that’s how this happened.

“I’m just here to get Kevin! We gotta do a rematch!” Magnus asserts, looking dizzy.

Merle lays a hand on Magnus’ arm. “Come on, man, you gotta rest a little, let’s head back, all right?”

“I’ll come too,” Lup says. “I wanna hear about this epic ball game, you coming, Bar?”

Barry nods and brushes off his jeans. “Yep, I’m all done here, let’s go,” he says, following Merle, Magnus and Kevin out the door. Lup follows, grinning. He’s always in those jeans. Hot.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is less angsty than the last one, which is probably good for us all, spice of life, you know. Also I now have a headcanon that Lup sits on counters frequently, not sure where I’m getting that but I love it.
> 
> Enjoy friends, yell in the comments if you’d like!


End file.
